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Location: Hwy 395 to starr ridge snopark; FR333-456- 4920- various off trail -082- 462 to sno park
Road & Trail Conditions: in a.m. 395 sketchy all the way even with gravel & slow - fishtailed on turns; better in p.m.-still patchy.
Snow Conditions: solid 3' base with powder; groomed trails excellent condition; off trail solid base, 1-2' powder drop
Skis on & temperature: 11am 22° (JD 26° )
Skis off & temperature: 3pm 26° (JD 30° )
Distance: 8 miles, 1600' elevation
Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10
Comments: went for a day of backcountry skis & off trail. sno base is solid with powder making great practice conditions.
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| off trail, deep sno tracks |
all of the starr ridge groomed trails of the last 2 weeks look fab: 333, 4920, 453, 353, 196, 3925 etc etc. saw no snomo tracks & lots of ski tracks. if conditions hold well thru weekend, there are multiple short medium & longer loops that can be combined from these trails.
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| fr 4920 |
end of last season became enthralled with venturing off trail, especially around strawberry mtn - high lake & onion creek & from the east side 101-125 to 1649 jct & off. today was a practice & conditioning run for later, higher elevations, like dixie. went well. started on baby bunny slopes & finished with descent down from 4920 along the powerlines. wide, deep, steep, few obstacles.
long skinny touring skis don's fare well in the deep, off trail powder. they sink & tips nosedive, boots can't hold turns. backcountry skis are wider, metal edge, bigger tip angle - combine to float on top of sno easier. boots are also heavier & more stout. basically halfway between nordic touring & alpine downhill.
while an advantage in the deep, off trail, bc gear is slower & more effort on groomed. getting uphill is more work - thus the saying - you earn your (downhill) turns.
finished the day with several runs down the sledding hill; good practice in various conditions on downslope. getting better downhill control, especially with backcountry skis.
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| sledding hill at starr ridge summit |
